[engl] Another gem from the fertile Indiana scene, and if you like stuff like Coneheads, CCTV, and Liquids it’s probably more or less a given that you’ll be into this as well. Skull Cult have elements of a lot those bands’ sounds as well as some of their own tricks. Another slab of goofy, shambolic keyboard punk from some of the best rockers Bloomington has to offer, this time with not one, but TWO jank-ass keyboards. I bring you Skull Cult: a newly-founded project from, assumedly, one of the bright minds behind Bloomington’s outstanding punk scene. The claustrophobic, direct-in-the-board guitar sound and manic rhythms remind me of Coneheads and the big melodies paired with hardcore tempos reminds me of Liquids, but Skull Cult’s 60s-sounding synth work (which often sounds kind of like a farfisa organ) is all their own, as are the almost demonic screamed vocals (which, despite their harshness, manage to carry more than a little bit of melody). A maniacal, goofy, utterly infectious synth-infused punk project with shameless songwriting. The hammy, omnipresent key tones sound as if they’re emanating from a Fischer-Price “Baby’s First Keyboard” that’s low on batteries, the vocals are discernably alien-like and hellbent on rattling your eardrums, and the bass and drums are so synonymously quirky and synchronized – this LP is insane in every sense of the word. Stupidly catchy hooks and melodies offset with the best warbled/ distorted vocals. It's the best. Throw in some downright iconic cover artwork and you have a real standout LP… grab this one now before it becomes another one of those things with shocking Discogs price tags.

[engl] We "invented" the DEVO-CORE so here is more for you freaks! I couldn’t be happier. Here’s to another slab of goofy, shambolic keyboard punk from some of the best rockers Bloomington has to offer, this time with not one, but TWO jank-ass keyboards. I bring you Skull Cult: a newly-founded project from, assumedly, one of the bright minds behind Bloomington’s outstanding punk scene. This “Vol. 1 + 2” EP compiles the first two tapes of the group’s efforts, and hot damn, is it fuckin’ GOOD. I’ve only listened to this record for a few days at this point, but Skull Cult has already grown on me just as hemorrhoids do on an overweight, sedentary, middle-aged man’s spotted asshole – meaning very easily. “Vol. 1 + 2” a maniacal, goofy, utterly infectious synth-infused punk project with shameless songwriting. The hammy, omnipresent key tones sound as if they’re emanating from a Fischer-Price “Baby’s First Keyboard” that’s low on batteries, the vocals are discernably alien-like and hellbent on rattling your eardrums, and the bass and drums are so synonymously quirky and synchronized – this EP is insane in every sense of the word. If I’m gonna be honest, the clunky, dopey-ass guitar solos shoehorned throughout “WTTT” literally sold me on this entire band. You need to jam this EP NOW, because Skull Cult is stupidly amazing. I don’t care what any of you nudniks have to say, Skull Cult is a movement I can fuckin’ get behind.

[engl] Slum of Legs are a queer, feminist noise-pop DIY band. We are Alex, Emily, Kate, Maria, Mich and Tamsin. We write songs about ghosts, architecture, gender, loneliness and hair envy. You can dance to all of them. Sometimes we sound like The Shaggs, Slant 6 and La Dusseldorf playing at an impromptu party in space. One of our songs is a live séance. We’ve performed on a Norwegian mountain and in many, many basements. We like pylons and onstage pile-ons. We’re interested in modernist architecture, art & literature. We use collage & cut-up in our artwork and this also reflects the fractured nature of our songs and how the 6 of us, who all bring completely different influences to the band, have been stuck into a blender with the controls jammed. We are a giant pop-psych, punk monster with twelve legs. Our songs are melodic and dissonant, anthemic and experimental. Our debut album ‘Slum of Legs’ is a manifesto for compassion and defiance in a confusing, unrestful world.

[engl] First UK band on ETT and they making fresh, fiery, and eminently danceable music! SLUMB PARTY are awesome! They just have such a cool vibe... they're overtly arty, but also have this kind of approachability about them as well, rather than something like the more detached art school aesthetic of Gang of Four or Wire. More to the point, they wrote simply incredible songs that combined the power of punk rock with the earworm quality of psychodelic children's songs. As one might expect from this kind of self-consciously artsy music, it is forward-pushing in a way that puts them in stark contrast to today's retro-oriented bands. Of course you can hear strains of various quirky, feminist punk from the Slits to the Raincoats to various other Rough Trade bands and beyond, but this is also heavy and raw in a way that would really only make sense in the year 2017. It's a brilliant EP that will take a little bit of unpacking to make sense of, but there's so much here... and most gratifyingly of all, it gives you the sense of punk actually moving forward. SLUMB PARTY sound like the future erupting out of all your favourite DIY punk 7”s simultaneously. There’s the infectious momentum of Essential Logic driving things ever forward, the arty minimalism of Lilliput underscoring the band’s lyrical subject matter. SLUMB PARTY use all these lightning rods as jumping on points to hurtle us all into a new dimension very much of their own making. This upsurge of energy and vision has now been skillfully captured on the band’s debut EP. The EP is basically everything that I want punk to be. I guess you can draw comparisons with any number of minimal, aggressive bands femenist bands of today (anything from THE WORLD to DOWNTOWN BOYS to PRIMETIME to FRAU to PRIESTS and more), but SLUMB PARTY are truly their own beast. Listening to this is like happening upon some raw, undiscovered European lady- freak punk gem from early 80s Europe, and if you treasure records of that ilk you NEED this like you need few other modern records. Utterly essential and highly recommended.

[engl] Second LP from Slumb Party, Nottinghams finest Post Punkers. First LP is long gone, don't sleep. Everyone’s favourite herky-jerky Nottingham noiseniks Slumb Party return to blow minds once more. Maybe it’s time you polished all the hard surfaces in your house and strapped on your dancing shoes, cuz once this one lands on your stereo you’re gonna be pulling shapes and bouncing from the floor to the walls and back again. Last time round their influences were clear: James Chance, Minutemen and Gang Of Four rose to the surface in a heady concoction of skronking, sax-drenched post-punk and addictively wonky hooks. This time they’re no less deliciously addictive, but the pop factor rides higher in the mix, at the cost of precisely none of their aching smarts or visceral thrill. A wheezing synth powers opener Go To Work, with nods to the same heroes as before, but also a sense of Attractions-style powerpop appeal – if XTC had ever attempted to refract pub rock through their angular prism while shouting ‘CAN YOU BUY ME A PINT’, it might have felt something like this. Sound good? Of course it fucking does, and it sets the tone for the rest of the album. While their 2017 debut (and if you slept on that masterpiece, then what are you waiting for, dummy?) dealt with working a day job and dealing with getting older, here the world weighs even more heavily on their shoulders. The snarling fury that characterised those songs is transposed to an exhausted rage that’s no less bilious or righteous – being skint, the overwhelming vacuum of ‘creative’ culture, and the general nature of just existing in 2019 all come under the microscope. No spoilers, but turns out all those things are bad; luckily they’re soundtracked and documented by a band that’s (whisper it) maturing (nah, fuck it, shout it: MATURING) into something far greater than the sum of their influences, that simply explodes from the speakers and demands your time. Like Molotov cocktails and lit matches, this is gonna seem daunting to swallow in one go, but the resultant explosion is messy and spectacular. Slumb Party describe this record as their ‘new/no wavey post punk power pop effort’, and that’s a pretty accurate summary: certainly, there’s a Stiff Records/Marked Men undercurrent to all those geometrical puzzles that make up their songs. Leave it to us, though, and we’ll just call it ‘one of the most essential records to emerge from the UK underground this year’. Or order you to drop everything and listen right now. ‘Spending Money’ is a keeper, alright. Will Fitzpatrick.

[engl] "Smarts are a relatively new Australian band who began playing shows around Melbourne and surrounds towards the end of 2018. Combining frantic, yet taut and rapidly-paced rhythms amidst playful, almost child-like riffs and melodies that just about make you want to pull your hair out, Smarts are a sound of their own. The band stemmed out of a bedroom demo that was recorded for fun a year earlier by Billy Gardner (bass, vocals) and Mitch Campleman (guitar) in Geelong. After letting it collect dust for 12 months, they assembled a band to perform the songs live featuring Jake Robertson on drums and Sally Buckley on synth; and released the four-song demo cassette, “Smart World”. Stella Rennex later joined the band, largely filling out the sound with her eccentric saxophone parts. “Who Needs Smarts, Anyway?” was recorded by the band themselves over a weekend slumber in Geelong at the DIY studio setup; The Barracks, with finishing coats added in Melbourne before sending off to mix-master-Mikey Young in Rye. There’s a feeling throughout as if the whole thing could collapse into pieces at any moment, and just when you think it’s about to, Smarts weave their way out and into a new direction. Points of reference could be compared to the quirkiness of LA’s Suburban Lawns or Geza X, as well as citing influence from modern sounds like Japanese band Vodovo and the ever-evolving Midwest American punk scene. It could even be viewed as a refreshing and original extension of the so-called “egg punk” genre. The North American pressing of ""Who Needs Smarts, Anyway?"", limited to 400 copies, comes packaged with a double-sided risograph insert and download code. "

[engl] French noise rock trio SOFY MAJOR will unleash their long-awaited fourth full-length this January! Titled TOTAL DUMP, the follow-up to 2015’s triumphant Waste LP was recorded and mixed by Dave Curran (Unsane, Big Business) at Black Box Studios, mastered by Carl Saff (Fu Manchu, Rosetta, KEN mode, Child Bite) at Saff Mastering and delivers eleven rocked out, Big-Muff-powered tracks of relentlessly raw, driving, melody. Fans of Unsane, Harvey Milk, The Jesus Lizard, Coliseum, and the like pay heed.

[engl] ‘Death Drive’ is a collision of two very distinct worlds; the scorched earth of indie rap legend, Sole, and the concrete jungles of certified platinum producer, DJ Pain 1. ‘Death Drive’ combines modern pop/rap aesthetics with the political edge reminiscent of hip-hop classics such as “Fear Of A Black Planet ». Sole & DJ Pain 1 utilize the golden era hip-hop approach of a rapper and DJ without employing gimmicks or rap cliches typical with more formulaic two-turntables-and-a-mic unions.

[engl] Sole & DJ Pain's latest offering comes a few months after the release of their debut LP DEATHDRIVE. Pattern of Life pushes the boundaries between propaganda and pop music while continually experimenting with new sonic approaches & themes. Sole & DJ Pain 1 independently released DEATHDRIVE, a collaboration revolutionary, anti-capitalist sentiment. Sole, indie hip-hop pioneer and certified platinum producer DJ Pain 1 createdscratch." Since the Death Drive's release, Sole was Sole & DJ Pain 1 have also been featured in Spin, Tinymixtapes, Alarm Magazine, Skinny UK, Rap Reviews, Penny Black Music, Get Your Buzz Up, and more.

[engl] Announcing a totally far out split LP from unexpected corners - fave Hoosier via SF tripper transplants Burnt Ones sweet-talked the one and only Space Lady into a split, and the results are magical. In her inimitable style she sparkles through "Across The Universe", "Starman", a brand-new original called “The Next Right Thing", and an achingly elegaic "Somewhere Over The Rainbow". Beautiful stuff and wonderful additions to her lovely repertoire. For their half Burnt Ones have continued to dial in and mellow down their sound, creating a warm cocoon for two kaliedoscopic creepers, peaking just a little with a floweringly spaced out version of the Space Lady's greatest hit, "Synthesize Me” and they close it with another druggy lullabye. Sounds like my idea of a great night in…

[engl] When two ex-Chausse Trappe and two members of Papier Tigre and La Colonie de Vacances got together mid-2017 to try out some of Meriadeg Orgebin’s ideas, it soon became the band Spelterini. Named after the tightrope artist Maria Spelterini, their music is always on the edge, tense yet flexible. They make their own fabric based on minimalism, drones, feedback and every accident, break or any other part is captured by the band and fuels the creative process, reenacting each performance and enhancing their direct approach. The band is already a remarkable touring act with acclaimed performances at the Levitation festival in Angers and everywhere in France. The band’s first release Pergélisol / Chorémanie will be released on September 20th, 2019 on Kythibong records in France (vinyl LP) and Mascarpone Discos in Spain (cassette tape). Two sides, two pieces, two moments, two methods. A «split» between two facets of the band. Born from the first year of in camera rehearsals, ‘Pergélisol’ comes from Spelterini’s live repertoire. This version was captured on the spot by Manuel Duval at La Grange cavale in June 2018. ‘Chorémanie’ is a collage game made up of oppositions, repetitions and break-ups, whose composition is purely the result of the recording process. The two tracks fulfill themselves between uptight post-punk, repetitive music and ambient drone, somewhere between This Heat, Swans and Eliane Radigue. The album was mixed by Spelterini between late 2018 and early 2019.

[engl] “Leaving you spellbound in its androgynous vocal delivery, Spider King’s Animals is a haunting children’s march that paralyses me with each listen” Cedric Bixler Zavala (Mars Volta/Antemasque) An unknown pleasure torn out of Manchester’s lost DIY manual, this overqualified/underexposed post-punk pop pillar cast an almost invisible undetected web across the history of Manchester’s inner-city music scene which has trapped body parts of The Mothmen, Martin Hannett, Gerry And The Holograms, John Cooper Clarke, The Blue Orchids, Naffi Sandwich (The Naffis) and The Fates in its glue. As a central mast to 1970s/80s Manchester’s “deserted” DIY era, spanning angular jazz funk, punk and sarcastic synth pop, Spider King has also played huge parts in Manchester’s honorary adoption of The Velvet Underground’s Nico (as her lead guitarist), fronted Martin Hannett’s first ever band and inhabits a key roll in the careers of Sad Cafe, Alberto y Lost Trios Paranoias, Paul Young and AC/DC’s Mancunian debut. With dozens of self-penned songs, unreleased demos and two of the best collectable Manc punk funk 45s to grace collectors want lists it’s almost unbelievable (almost tragic) that Mike King never released a full length album… until now. Shot To Pieces is one of the most elusive jagged pieces of the North West’s punk funk puzzle. Recorded sporadically between 1979 and 1983 with a cast of characters from the Rabid/Absurd label family, such as behind the scenes synth wielder John Scott from Gerry And The Holograms, and producers like Laurie Latham (The Blockheads) it’s plain to see why 2016?s current music climate is the perfect time for the Spider King’s lost music to resurface. Commonly recognised by stalwarts of the era’s mutating punk/alt/indie genre as “the one that got away”, Spider King is the archetypal artist’s artist as well as the outsider’s outsider and the hardest working man in no-business who is now attracting a whole new audience of champions from bloggers, vinyl nerds and well respected contemporary musicians with his appearances on mix-tapes and various artist compilations. On hearing this essential release you could argue that these lost “spider-grams” are more relevant now than they were when those arachnophobic A&R men shooed him away over 3 decades ago. For those who ain’t afraid to get bitten say hello to the Spider King.

[engl] Alfresco is the debut album from Spiritual Mafia. The band played a handful of shows a few years ago, but found it near impossible to continue due to members spread across the far reaches of Australia. Try organising practice when some live in Victoria, another in Queensland, and another in the Northern Territory. Somehow Spiritual Mafia managed to record an album, and look forward to re- establishing their existence in a much-craved post-lockdown world. Validating the band’s semi-ridiculous name, there is something ‘spiritual’ about this album. Alfresco breaks things down to their basic elements. Lyrics focus on themes of water, food, and the human body. Primitive, yet timeless stuff. The themes are complimented by music as equally unpretentious. The riffs neglect any grandiose changes and keep hammering down upon the listener like a violent Mafioso collecting the interest and the principle. It’s a different kind of spirituality that one wouldn’t find in the background of a yoga class. But it does have a Zen aspect. Think Stooges or Brainbombs for no-brainer comparisons. But on top of the standard rock band instrumentation, add some cosmic synths, and healthy amounts of turntablism littered throughout the jams. Alfresco tries to remind the listener that if we forget our troubles for a moment and go for a swim (20 minutes after eating), then the world would be a happier place.

[engl] Alfresco is the debut album from Spiritual Mafia. The band played a handful of shows a few years ago, but found it near impossible to continue due to members spread across the far reaches of Australia. Try organising practice when some live in Victoria, another in Queensland, and another in the Northern Territory. Somehow Spiritual Mafia managed to record an album, and look forward to re- establishing their existence in a much-craved post-lockdown world. Validating the band’s semi-ridiculous name, there is something ‘spiritual’ about this album. Alfresco breaks things down to their basic elements. Lyrics focus on themes of water, food, and the human body. Primitive, yet timeless stuff. The themes are complimented by music as equally unpretentious. The riffs neglect any grandiose changes and keep hammering down upon the listener like a violent Mafioso collecting the interest and the principle. It’s a different kind of spirituality that one wouldn’t find in the background of a yoga class. But it does have a Zen aspect. Think Stooges or Brainbombs for no-brainer comparisons. But on top of the standard rock band instrumentation, add some cosmic synths, and healthy amounts of turntablism littered throughout the jams. Alfresco tries to remind the listener that if we forget our troubles for a moment and go for a swim (20 minutes after eating), then the world would be a happier place.

[engl] Cut from a magnetic, jagged edge of the Louisiana underground, Spllit open up an entirely new can of worms on 'Infinite Hatch'. A dozen new originals, mined from the minds of Marance and Urq, prove to be quite the follow-up to their introductory 2021 effort, 'Spllit Sides'. Transitioning from home recording project to roadworthy live unit - anchored by Raegan Labat (bass) and Ryan Welsh (drums) has worked wonders for Spllit's style. Their approach to composition remains wonderfully fried - a galaxy of textured sonic synapses, totally wired and deeply imaginative. Yet, in the midst of this collision of sounds, there's beauty. Anxieties transcend into swirling dual-vocal pop art experimentalia, while guitar work taps into something Magical. Spllit's old friend MIDI again contributes to the smokestack of layered tracks, though somehow - IT ALL MAKES SENSE. Crystalline soundscapes from humid human minds. 'Infinite Hatch' is a rare flavor, strikingly different based on how you approach it, yet cohesive. Spllit are triumphant sonic chemists, cooking in the avant-lab that's way, way out there.

[engl] Somewhere out there, a new sound known as Next Level Music exists. The hot and humid Amite River basin of Baton Rouge, Louisiana is the unlikely, albeit natural inflection point for such a sound - created by a duo with a driving penchant for originality, known as SPLLIT. The story of Spllit begins with a fun challenge of sorts: to write and record split sides of an album in under a day's time. Enter Urq and Marance, and their arsenal of odd-shaped guitars, synthesizers, glass and metal percussive gadgets, marimbas, and so-on. "Spllit Sides" slowly rises from a cacophony of tape splicing into clear and concrete Next Level Music. Like an acid tableaux vivant ~ a swirling sonic whirlwind of loose and odd time signatures come into play along with the occasional pop sensibility. Originality remains key in Spllit's formula, but let's establish some sonic kinship - maybe a Devolved, Deep South version of The Flying Lizards. Or a deep fried Eno sitting in with The Magic Band. This Heat from a place that's actually hot and has quietly housed eccentrics like The Zoomers for decades. Freaky shit from a fun(ky) new cloud. Spllit's first album features seven brand new cuts and a fresh coat of ether applied to their previous "Spllit Together" cassette, with a vibrant mastering job courtesy of Caufield Schnug (Sweeping Promises). Spllit Sides comes packaged in a 20pt. reverse board sleeve with full color insert and download code.

[engl] Incredible, idiosyncratic and obscure early 80s French futurist DIY project led by Jean-Luc Aime (Univers Zero) this feature-length album of elusive recordings marks the bonafide axis point where Zeuhl School meets synth pop, dark ambient and early electro culled from rare vinyl and disparate cassette co-op releases for this first ever LP release. A lost art-efact from a micro genre where ZED, Eskaton and Heldon share outernational tape space with Vox Populi! The Normal, Colin Potter and Luc Marianni this record occupies a unique place on the shelves of fans of early DIY electro and post punk while ticking the boxes of 80s VHS OST enthusiasts and the growing interest in European cassette zine projects. These melodic macabre tape experiments fuse multi-track cassette experiments with home-made special effects at the hand of an accomplished multi-instrumentalist working on the outer reaches of disenfranchised progressive-pop and reluctant techno defining then deconstructing genres that have yet to exist. Fuelled by futurist gothic imagery and operating on a parallel plain to his European and American contemporaries there are few artists like Stabat Stable and virtually none more enigmatic. This benchmark record is the first signpost to a darker part of your musical want-list as the invisible glue for fans of the aforementioned anti-genres. File under “Not Yet”.

[engl] The Great Depression, the latest release from Geneva art punks the Staches, fits a lot of action into an economical two tracks. The band has flirted with raucous garage rock primitivism on their past releases, but here they pare down their sound and go all in for minimal post-punk that nods to krautrock via mechanical riffs and the addition of ambient synths. It’s a good fit for a band who have grown to be formidable songwriters with musicianship to back up their genre-melding ideas. The title track is built on a stomping garage beat with a buzzy guitar line that’s almost prog-like in its construction. B-side “You Are Still a Stranger” is a deconstructed pop song with stream of consciousness lyrics that collapses into a cloudy, off-kilter chorus led by an echoing synth line and layered vocals.

[engl] „This Lake Is Pointless“ a statement made by Mr. Anton Garber boywonder of the Modern Talking of our time - PUFF , regarding a puddle in the countryside of Bourgogne / France during the beautiful festival of Cour Denis. The title of this third studio album, which The Staches recorded on their own with a Tascam - 4track and a computer, in their chosen home of Leipzig / Germany also refers to their original home - the city of Géneve, it’s beautiful lake and pathetic fountain. The fact that they left these comforting, clean streets of their wealthy home to fully dedicate their carcasses to play and record a very own brand of emotionally challenging synth guitar „Rockmusic“ also leads me to alternatively (and more accurately) name this record: „ Tales Of Exile And Isolation“. I mean you can really hear them going out of their minds zoning stoned during a nasty winternight recording just to see the sun arise to an equally dark and grey day. Sounds depressing? Yes! But this record is everything but depressing because it has a very forgiving, conciliatory quality that I am looking for in a lot of music. Speaking of depression - the opener The Great Depression is just as bold as a Pernod on ice splashed right into your face (by your fav. bartender), the first words „The great depression - EmotionaI competition“ (followed by a german „Eins Zwei Drei Vier“ that in it’s bored dumbness reflects perfectly how annoyed you can get by the language that you are supposed to learn after living for some time in your new home ) sung with that not hidden at all french accent always kills me right away. Followed by the laid back, groovy Burger King - drive - thru hymn Fake Stomach Ache, which features deliciously dry drums a thick leading bassline accompanied by a toyish sounding synth and a nice flat sounding Marchand ( yes that is someone of the band ) signature guitar. Again great lyrics and multiple voices adding up to the general theme of desperation and winter loneliness. A single great line sums up the whole phenomenon of Neo -Hippie - Techno - MDMA bullshit that you can refer to immediately if you have ever been at a club, an afterhour or just happen to live in a big ,hip ( german ) city „Living in the work zone, feeling low, living the same day, every day, the same day after a night of drugs and no idea of who or what to blame“. I could read a big deal of criticizing modern society and yourself as part of it in all of this, but it’s never delivered in a dogmatic way and not too hidden as well, which is not easy to achieve. Thank God For Mc Donald’s is a very good title and a very good song indeed. Surprised to learn that these fellow Switzerlanders never got introduced properly to Sonic Youth I still tend to find a lot of their momentum in the Staches’ compositions. Especially in the closing instrumental intro of Hummus, a stoic and acceptingly told story of a date that almost didn’t happen „ Sitting at the table and I know she won’t arrive - The dish is cold and I am almost out of fries“ sung with a little accent that I’d file under fake - british - punk, but doesn’t annoy. As you may have already realized you made it till the namedropping part of this review and I cannot let you get through it before mentioning Parquet Courts and Mastodon, decide for yourself. But you can def. hear how they are influenced by a lot of australian stuff as the likes of Hierophants or UV Race ( there is even a song called VW race, and the last record was mastered by Mickey Young - ok, yes this guy is mastering EVERYTHING, but this is still cool! ) and equally electronically enhanced 80s german Wave, No Wave or New Wave music. The band is probably almost as annoyed by these comparisons as by being referred and thereby reduced to a female act, girl punk or feminist outfit ( I will officially refer to them as Male Punk here so this probably won’t make it to the final version). Especially enjoyable are all the little things going on before after or inbetween the songs and the ironic touch towards handling the own persona - see Money In My Veins dealing with the curse and blessing of coming from one of the richest countries in the world. This record for sure doesn’t wear off fast, it rather grows and doesn’t get boring, especially the depths of dealing with undealt emotions and the obligatory heartbreak make this really interesting and referable especially after a couple of times listening to it. „Allrighty dudskies, en voiture Simone and to Victory Middlesbrough!“

[engl] Blending 90s era Dischord with modern day punk influenced indie rock, San Francisco’s States of Nature brings a fresh take on a familiar sound with dueling vocals, shouty yet memorable hooks, and strong counterpointed movement to inspire a rock n roll frenzy. States of Nature draws lyrics through moments notable and ordinary to create an abstract expression of personal honesty, striving for hope out of grief and growth out of darkness. States of Nature is Eric Urbach (ex. Everybody Row) on guitar/vocals, Lindsey Anne on Bass/Vocals, Dennis Orason on guitar, and Paul Ohnemus on Drums. “Brighter than Before” speaks to a world in flux, noting when there’s so much uncertainty and sadness, you need the strength of those around you and belief in yourself to get to a place of peace to dream of a hopeful tomorrow. The album is a high energy indie rock and roll stomper with peaks and valleys. Fun, yet introspective, grounded, yet free, “Brighter than Before '' displaying dramatic growth in songwriting, with hooks a plenty and.